Bildungsroman
by ChilliLemons
Summary: A re-write of my old story Who We Are. Growing up is a process Sakura has to learn all about.
1. Chapter 1

_**Bildungsroman **_

**Hey, everyone. This is a rewrite of my now-deleted story, Who We Are. I'd royally messed that one up, so that it had begun to focus more on romance rather than on story and character. So rather than continue that one, I've started this one, with the same OC, Kagawa Sakura, because this is the fourth attempt I've made to write a story on her and I couldn't leave her without giving her what she deserves- a decent story, a well-rounded character, and some real personal development. And if Sanada-kun comes with the deal, so much the better ;)**

**To all those who had read, favourited and followed Who We Are, I'm sorry for taking that story down without any notice. I'm trying to develop my writing, to make it better and more realistic. So this story is dedicated to you all, with my sincerest apologies, as well as my gratitude for the interest all of you showed in my previous story. I hope you enjoy this one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PoT. It belongs to Takeshi Konomi. I do, however, own any OCs you may see here.  
**************************************************************************

It was a pretty day. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and the trees were weighed down by clusters of the small, pink flowers. The footpaths and the grasses in the park were strewn with the petals of the blossoms, providing a soft carpet for those who walked. There was soft sunlight, not too hot as it was only April, after all, and there was a gentle breeze that carried the detached petals on its breath to every part of the city. Truly, it was a pretty day. It was a perfect day.

_SNORT!_

Sakura sat bolt upright, snorting and sneezing helplessly, trying to dislodge the damn stray petal that had _gone up her nose! _This messy job done, she glared balefully through watery eyes at her mother. "I keep that window _shut_, ma."

"Oh, I'm aware." Aiki responded serenely, which would have been _just fine_ if not for the glint in her eye that bespoke laughter. "I just thought that this room could use a breath of air. A fine thing, isn't it, seeing as it successfully woke you up? Just as well, too; I believe you have a _new start_ to make today."

"Mmmgaaaaaa." With another inarticulate noise, Sakura dived back under the covers. This time, however, she achieved a new level of security by putting the pillow _over_ her head.

"COLD!" She yelped, wrapping her arms around her torso and curling up. Her mother shook her head, and dropped the blanket she'd yanked off her daughter. "Nomura-san called."

Sakura 's eye peeked out as she turned her head slightly from the pillow she'd mashed her face into. "Ungh?" _So early…_

"She said that the entire tennis club is meeting at Ryuzaki-sensei's office before the first class, at seven-thirty."

"MmmmKAAAY." Sakura turned back the business of pillow-squashing. Or face-flattening.

"_Sakura_."

"Mmuuwhaa?"

"It's seven."

* * *

Half an hour later, a very red, puffing and unbathed Sakura arrived at the coach's office. Not that anyone could tell the third.

"Kagawa." Nomura-buchou didn't look very pleased. "You're _just_ on time_._"

"Guh." Was all she managed to say.

"I suppose you overslept."

"Haa."

"Really, Kagawa, on the first day?"

She scowled. She didn't get why people said that. Wasn't it _normal_ to oversleep on the first day? After all, holiday habits could hardly be shaken off so easily, so didn't it make _sense_ if people overslept on the first day?

"Never mind. Let's begin."

It was probably the principle of the thing.

Ranking matches: in a week. Go everyone, do your best! Let's try to kick ass this year. Girl power! Afternoon practice: starts at three. Allows enough time for after-class duties. And in a spirit of drive and awesomeness and general over-enthusiasm, let's start from today! Banzaaaaai!

Sakura almost groaned out loud and sank through the floor. From the first day! From the _first day_, for crying out loud!

"Oi, Kagawa, wake up. You don't want to be late for class too." Kazumi-senpai poked her.

_Class_. "Bleeaaarrghhh."

* * *

Despite the above evidence, Sakura was actually a good speaker. A _very_ good speaker, who demonstrated the kind of tenacity in her arguments that would have made a world-class marathoner proud. At times, however, she lapsed into monosyllables, random sentence fragments, impenetrable silences and worst of all, ambiguous sounds, all of which made _no_ sense to her listeners whatsoever.

"You still haven't actually told me what happened, Sakura-chan." Kagome reminded her. "In _The Devil Wears Prada_."

Sakura, deep in thought, staring at the poem they were supposed to interpret, grunted.

"Sakura-_chan_." Kagome rapped her knuckles on the desk. "You _promised_. And it's _break_, and class is _over_. _Tell _me."

"Hurr?"

Kagome wilted. Not even a full week into term, and already Sakura was in full-on workaholic mode.

After about ten minutes, Sakura shoved the book into her desk and pulled her lunchbox out instead. "Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm? Yes, Kagome-chan?" Sakura replied. Kagome perked up. Finally! "What happened next in _The Devil Wears Prada?_"

Sakura thought for a second, and then perked up. "Oh right! I was telling you before sensei came in, about that part- oh yeah, yeah. Nothing much, really; the cow kicks the bitch and leaves." Standing up, she kicked the chair to the side. Kagome was still staring open-mouthed at her.

Sakura smiled sunnily. "Come on, Kagome-chan, I told Momo-chan to save seats for us. Let's go to the cafeteria!"

Kagome followed her, her mind frantically trying to make sense of Sakura's narration. She had waited one hour and ten minutes for _that?_

No sooner had she sat down at the table than someone came up to her. "Excuse me, but are you Kagawa Sakura-senpai?"

"Who's asking?" She mumbled, taking a bite of the onigiri her ma had made. Aaaahhh, _bliss_. When no reply came, she looked at the asker.

It was a little freshman girl with painfully long hair and a _painfully_ shy expression. "Speak up, kid, I don't bite." She grinned her most jovial grin. "What's your name?"

"Ryuzaki Sakuno, senpai." The girl said. Her knees were shaking. Sakura blinked. _Either the kid has a serious case of nerves or my reputation is just that bad._

"Right… Sakuno-chan. You got a message for me?"

"Y-yes!" Sakura blinked again at the sudden raised voice. The girl flushed. "I mean, No- Nomura-buchou asked me to tell you to come a little early for practice!"

"Oh, for the love of…" Sakura moaned. "Right, thanks, Sakuno-chan. You wouldn't be the coach's kid, would you? Although she does look too old to have a kid as young as you…"

"No- no, senpai, Obaa-chan is my grandmother. I- I mean, of course obaa-chan is… I mean, Ryuzaki-sensei is my grandmother." Sakuno finished, looking very red and like she wished the ground would swallow her up. Sakura suppressed a grin; the poor kid was flustered enough. "Okaaaay… well, nice to meet you, Sakuno-chan. Thanks for delivering the message."

"That is one nervous kid." Airi remarked, snickering. "Next time you meet her, Sakura-chan, go 'BOO'. I wanna record the reaction."

"Yeah, and you can record me getting kicked out of the club too." Sakura snorted. "She's nervous, I grant you, but she seems sweet. Plus she's Ryuzaki's granddaughter. No way I'm pissing off that dragon."

"Like getting kicked off the club will matter to you. You don't even care." Airi replied.

"I do care. I mean, I'm not all, "To the Nationals, Oishi-kun" and all, but I like playing. And get kicked out of _anything_ is pretty bad, thank you very much. _Plus_, 'tennis regular' will look good on my CV after high school." Sakura said, deepening her voice when she did the Tezuka imitation. Her friends laughed.

"To the Nationals… I'd be content with just a "To bed, Oishi-kun". Now _that_, I'd be passionate about." Momoko grinned.

Kagome threw a piece of pickle at her. "You're disgusting."

"Like you don't lust after Fuji-senpai." Airi nudged her. "Hypocrite."

"Ooooh, look who's talking, Miss 'I-just-find-Kikumaru-senpai-_cute_!" Momoko trilled, as Airi scowled. "In fact, Sakura-chan's the only one of us with no real crush."

"Don't you believe it, Hayashi." A new voice interjected. The girls looked up, and Sakura, upon seeing the newcomer, groaned. "Go away, Momoshiro."

"Ah, so mean to your English partner, Kagawa." He teased. "I'm hurt, I am."

"Lovely."

"Sakura-chan, _he_ knows?" Airi demanded.

"It's not a crush!"

"But she does like someone." Momoshiro said, grinning.

"No, I don't." She said crossly. "Shut your trap, Momoshiro."

"Hey hey, touchy." He laughed. "She's lying."

"_That's_ pretty clear." Momoko scoffed. "What _I_ want to know is why _you_ know and _we_ don't. _Betrayal_, man, _betrayal_. _Girl code._"

"Come on, I didn't even tell him on purpose." Sakura scowled.

"HA! So there _is_ something!" Kagome exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

Sakura buried her head in her arms, groaning aloud again.

When she raised it again, Momoshiro's grin had stretched to catlike proportions, and all three of the girls were staring at her looking like she was the proverbial white light. "…What?"

"_Sakura-chan!"_

"_What?_"

"Oh my _God_, Sakura-chan! That is _so_ cool!"

Sakura stared at them for a second. Then she swung around and glared at Momoshiro. _"What _did you tell them?!"

"Nothing!" He yelped, ducking her flailing fist. "I didn't _lie_!"

"That-doesn't-answer-my-question!" She punctuated each word with a blow.

"Oh, calm down, Sakura-chan." Momoko said, restraining her. "He just said you like Tezuka-senpai."

….

"_MOMOSHIRO!"_

"Hey- ow, you bat, get off- I didn't lie, I told you!"

"You _did _too!"

"Ummm, Sakura-chan, maybe you'd better-"

"Yeah, shit, seriously, calm the hell down-"

"_The hell? How am I wrong?!"_

"That's not it- um, actually, it's just that-"

"Kagawa! Momoshiro!"

"Well, shit, we tried."

"We do not expect such behaviour from students of this school! What is going on!"

"He started it, sensei!"

"Wha- that's not true!"

"Oh isn't it, you lying little bas-"

"Kagawa! Silence, both of you!"

_Silence._

"Detention, after club activities! You'll replace the first years due to clean the basketball courts!"

"What?"

"But sensei-"

"No buts. Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Sakura's ears burnt with humiliation. Apart from a few initial scuffles in freshman year, her record was spotless. Even those first few affairs hadn't got her a detention. _Or_ such a public dressing-down.

"You know-" Kagome began, but Sakura leveled her such a sharp look that she broke off, shocked into silence. At a signal from Momoko, Momoshiro left, as angry and mortified as Sakura. Airi focused on her food, looking for all the world like nothing had really happened.

Sakura didn't need to look _or_ listen to know that _everyone_ was staring and whispering behind their hands. Except a few- some of the more classy second and third-years were determinedly focused on their lunch. Oishi-senpai would probably be shushing his bloody _hyperactive_ doubles partner, and telling people not to look because it was _rude_. Freaking mother hen. Tezuka-senpai wouldn't even be looking, he probably wouldn't care. And if there was a _tiny_ kernel of disappointment in her about that, she beat it away ruthlessly. It wasn't like she had a crush on him, it was just…

She looked at her friends. They were covertly watching her, waiting to see if she would explode any moment. And there was worry in their gazes; Airi would probably slit her throat before acknowledging it, though. She broke into a small grin, picturing the scene, and lifted a piece of sushi to her lips.

"For the record," She muttered. "It's just that he looks a helluva lot like Shirota Yuu."

Airi grinned; Momoko and Kagome began to giggle. Sakura's lips too curved into a reluctant smile; all was well, at least until detention.

* * *

"You asked me to come early, Buchou." Sakura said, twirling her racquet. "It's not about this morning, is it?"

"Not really." Nomura-buchou said. "I wanted to clarify some things with you before the rest of them show up."

"Okay…?"

Nomura looked away for a minute, at the courts, where Ryuzaki Sakuno and a few other first year girls were setting up the training cones.

"I need to know where tennis stands with you." She said quietly.

Whatever Sakura had expected, it definitely wasn't this. _What?_

"Um…" She gave a nervous laugh. "What does that mean, buchou?"

"You could become captain next year. But not unless you become a bit more serious about tennis, and the future of this club. How serious are you regarding this club, Kagawa?" Nomura-buchou's eyed were boring into her, as though she was trying to see into her brain, and Sakura didn't like it.

"You want me to be honest, buchou?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Of course." The captain had her eyebrow raised, silently questioning why the younger girl had asked that question.

"I'm not serious." Sakura shrugged. "I mean, it's fun and all, but it's more of a hobby than anything else. I'll be quitting the club at the end of this year anyway, so captaincy isn't really… But yeah, it's like, not my priority in life."

There was a silence as Nomura-buchou scrutinised her thoughtfully. At length, she nodded. "I had the feeling. Thank you for being open with me. This won't translate into your on-court game, I hope?"

"Oh, no. No, it won't."

"Good. I would hate to drop a good player because she isn't serious enough. But I would do it."

"Fair enough. You don't need to worry about that. I won't let a match slide." _I think she just implied that I would make the team…_

"Good. You can start running laps, then."

"Roger that. Hey, buchou?" Her captain paused while turning away. Sakura continued: "You might want to consider Mikabi-chan for captaincy next year." When no reply seemed forthcoming, she pressed, "Takada Mikabi? I have a feeling she'd suit."

Nomura-buchou's eyes were like two points of black steel. "Did I ask for your input?" Her voice was low and hard.

Sakura had the grace to look ashamed. "No, buchou."

"Stay within your limits, Kagawa. Join the others in laps now."

"Yes, buchou."

* * *

"Well handled, Nomura."

She smiled faintly. "Thanks, I guess. Although you did just compliment my bitch-tone, which I don't really like myself."

Tezuka's glasses glinted, and she thought it masked the amused glint in his eye. "I meant that it was dignified."

"Then seriously, thanks. She's a good kid, but she can become a bit… insolent. Doesn't know her limits."

"I noticed. She plays well?"

"Yeah. She's not too serious, otherwise she could probably at least play on par with either Kikumaru or Oishi. Good stamina- _very _good stamina. Likes the long battles."

"Counter puncher."

"Yep. She's like a cat: plays with her food, and then finally pounces just when they think that they're safe. It's a bit cruel."

"She likes the feel of power, then." Tezuka observed. Nomura gave him a weird look. "Okay, stop psychoanalysing my player. It's getting creepy. Why are you so interested in her, anyway? Don't tell me the great Tezuka has a crush. That would be kind of funny."

Tezuka merely adjusted his spectacles. "The upcoming tournament. I'm… scouting."

"Oh, yeah, that. You couldn't let me decide?"

"Inui came up with a shortlist."

"Ah. Who else?"

"Takada Mikabi, second year."

"Writing us third years off, are we? Old maids as we are?"

"Whom do you have in mind?"

"Then how about this: Kagawa, Takada and myself. Or perhaps Kazumi." At Tezuka's _look_, she sighed. "I'll keep her off Fuji, okay? And I hope she has a bit more self-respect than that."

"You hope." The scepticism in Tezuka's voice was oodles thick.

"Your faith in the female species and in my abilities is _heartening_, Tezuka."

He adjusted his spectacles again. "Very well, I leave the decision to you. I hope to have the names by the end of the day."

"You can collect the list from Ryuzaki-sensei."

"Agreed."

* * *

"This is all your fault." Sakura muttered, shooting Momoshiro a glare. She grabbed the broom and began to sweep one half of the court.

"Okay. _How_?" He asked, looking equal parts angry and exasperated. "_You_ were hitting _me_. _You_ were yelling. In a fair world, I wouldn't _be_ here."

"You _provoked_ me. That _counts_. In a court of law, you would get punished too. Provocation would be an important point in my defence."

"Okay, okay, don't go vomiting the Japanese law book on me." Momoshiro looked decidedly amused now.

"Oh come on, just smile already. I've been waiting for you to smile so I can laugh at you." He prodded her with the end of his broom.

"Ow! Violence isn't the answer, moron!" Her cheeks were flushed with annoyance.

"Like it was at lunch, you violent old hag!"

"Me, an old hag? You're an overgrown excuse for a humanoid gorilla!"

That stumped him. "What?"

She turned away, snorting. "Stupid too. Were you held back for a few grades at elementary school? Because that would explain a _lot_."

"Well, at least I don't have the temper of a shrew!"

"Who are you calling a shrew, nincompoop?"

"And the face of a witch!"

"Oh, like _you're_ Shirota Yuu, ugly." She sneered.

"No, but you know who _is_? Te-"

She stamped on his foot.

"OW!"

"Che, you deserved it." She turned away.

Momoshiro fumed silently.

* * *

"Wow." Nomura muttered, watching them. "They _really_ don't get along."

"Not all the time." Kazumi said. "Mikabi was saying that they got a _terrible _English grade last term because they just kept _talking_ all the time, and never got any work done. This is probably about what happened at lunch today."

"I heard she was in a fight."

"Yes, with _him_." Kazumi gestured to the basketball court, where both juniors were cleaning up, silence simmering between them. "And I heard it was over Tezuka-kun."

That prompted a raised eyebrow from the captain. "Tezuka?"

"Don't know the details, but one of my friends was sitting at the next table in the cafeteria, and she said that one of Kagawa's friends said something about her having a crush on Tezuka-kun, and _that's_ what prompted the fight." Kazumi's voice was casual. "I don't really believe it myself, of course; I mean, Kagawa's never spoken to him, has she? But I guess Momoshiro wouldn't bring it up without proof. But still, I suppose _you'd_ know if it was true, wouldn't you, Ayano-chan?"

Nomura's temples began to ache. Kazumi, while a good player and a decent friend, could be an incurable gossip. Really, how was _she_ supposed to know if Kagawa had a crush on Tezuka, pray?

She looked down at her list, and circled three names.

"Let's go. I need to get this to Ryuzaki-sensei."

**I'm trying to actually build Sakura into an independent character here, so this story might progress rather slowly. I have a pre-write, but that's only the barest bones.  
Oh, and Shirota Yuu was the actor who played Tezuka in the live action film. Fitting, I thought ;)**

**Reviews= feedback= I know what's going right and wrong= further correction and development= more writing= faster updates. And even if that didn't make much sense to you, review :)**

**Cheers,**

**Chilli.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bildungsroman**

**Chapter two:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PoT.  
*****************************************************************

"I can't do it." The bald refusal in Sakura's tone caused the assembled students to pause, and Ryuzaki-sensei and Tezuka to raise their eyebrows.

She quailed a little at the look in their eyes, but continued to speak to Nomura. "I mean, I don't think I'll be able to, buchou. I have debate club, and schoolwork, and everything… I don't think I can manage these extra practices and tournaments along with everything else."

The captains looked at each other. "I'm sure you could, Kagawa, with a little organisation. After all, Oishi's the Student Council Vice-President, the team Vice-Captain, and an editor in the school magazine, in addition to having excellent grades. I'm _also_ in the Student Council, and my own grades aren't shabby either."

Sakura bit her lip. "With all due respect, buchou, you know that debate and school come before tennis for me."

"And if you club events and tennis matches clash, we'll let you choose. But I'd like you to try managing this. It's an honour to have been handpicked, and you only a second year."

Momoshiro stood up a little straighter than that.

"And I've had a look at your grades. You clearly have nothing to worry about in that department."

Damn. Nomura-buchou _really_ wanted her in this.

Still, she hesitated. If her grades or debate club attendance took a hit, she would have to quit halfway. Better to not commit fully rather than back out later, right?

"Kagawa." That deep voice certainly didn't belong to _her _captain.

"Yes, Tezuka-senpai?"

His eyes were hard hazel behind his glasses. She tensed, visibly, and was conscious of Momoshiro's tiny smirk.

The matter of the cafeteria argument/detention remained unresolved between them.

"The tennis club is willing to grant you a little extra latitude to make sure that you fulfil all your responsibilities. Surely you may commit to this programme without reservations."

Well. There it was, in black and white. And Nomura-buchou thought she was up to it, so what the hell, really?

Not trusting herself to speak to him (without squeaking or doing something equally embarrassing that Momoshiro would _never _let her live down), she gave him and Nomura her most formal nod.

"Good. Now that _that's_ sorted," Here Ryuzaki-sensei shot her a _look_ (hag, Sakura thought resentfully), "Perhaps we can move forward?"

"The mixed doubles tournament will be small in terms of scale- some of the smaller schools aren't sending teams, from Tokyo at least. But that doesn't mean you can take it easy!" Ryuzaki-sensei barked, glaring at them something fierce. "The best teams are sending their players- and Hyotei and Rikkai are nothing to sneeze at! So don't even think about slacking off!"

"Yes ma'am." Takada muttered. Next to her, Sakura bit back a grin.

"All of you will undergo a special training programme for this tournament. I want each and every one of you to give your all, and do you very best! You get that?"

"Yes sensei!"

"Good. Tezuka, Nomura, they're all yours."

Sakura thought that sounded rather ominous.

* * *

"If I hear one more thing about letting our guard down, I will cut off his testicles." Takada said flatly. Flatly because voice inflections used more energy.

Sakura debated on whether or not to point out that she'd need to get her target to let his guard down to get anywhere near his testicles... then gave up, because thinking used too much energy.

"Kagawa, Takada, really. Get your asses up, the pair of you."

Nomura-buchou and her wretched endurance. Well, technically, the two second years could keep up, it was just an off day for Takada, what with her period and all. And I'm just lazy, Sakura thought ruefully. Shame on me.

"Yes buchou." They muttered, getting up from where they'd been collapsed against the fence.

"Kagawa, rally with me. Takada, with Momoshiro."

"Okay." Sakura took her stance at the baseline.

"I want you to work on your backhand. Alright?" Nomura called from across the net.

"Roger that." Sakura nodded once, sharply.

Nomura started off slow, a quick but easy serve immediately to her left, which Sakura returned low, hard and flat. The next few were all to her backhand, equally easy.

The next was a forehand.

"Run around it!" Nomura called out.

If that wasn't a useless manoeuver she didn't know what was. "Yes ma'am!"

Captain was in command-mode. Pissing off in this mode equals stupidity. At the very least, Sakura had self-preservation instincts.

She was actually glad when Nomura began to up the ante. More power, more speed. More spin. More strategy. Calculations. If she's going to hit _there, _I need so much time to get there before. Sakura liked calculations. So much power, spin this way, use centrifugal force to counter. She liked physics. Rotate body to counter spin. Twist elbow and flick wrist to add own spin. Sakura liked thinking in connected images. A leads to B leads to C and the cumulative end result is D where D equals A minus B plus C and outcome D is favourable, add elements E and F and the equation changes...

"She's a little scary when she plays." Takada commented to Momoshiro during a break. The two of them took little sips from their canteens as they watched the players in the neighbouring court.

"She's _always_ scary." He scoffed. "What do you mean?"

Takada's brow furrowed. "She _thinks_ her play out, you know? I remember this one match we had last year, towards the end. I could literally _see_ her thinking throughout the game. It's a little scary, because you start wondering what she's thinking so hard about. What she's seeing that you aren't. I remember getting really jumpy and making a lot of stupid mistakes."

Momoshiro nodded. "She plays like Inui-senpai, then. Data and all. Is that what you mean?"

"No, not at all. Inui-senpai deals in numbers and percentages and probability and stuff. Kagawa's all about angles and logic and physics and... I really don't know how her brain works, though. She's a little distant."

"Distant? Aren't you friends?"

Takada shrugged. "Oh, we are, we are, but she's got this knack of somehow being really distant and really distant at once. I mean, I was doing this essay for homework once, and I realised that I don't know if she likes cats better than dogs, or what. You know, the kind of basic, inane trivia that you just get to know about your friends through random conversation, I don't know about her. And she knows all that about me. I just... it's a little unsettling, I don't even know." She was waving her hands around by this point in an effort to better express herself, and Momoshiro could only grin. This girl was pretty cute.

But on a tennis court, see, one's supposed to play. Not stand around discussing the mechanics of a maybe-friendship.

"Momoshiro, Takada! Ten laps!" Tezuka barked. The two of them jumped.

Sakura and Nomura paused and looked at the source of the disturbance. Then at the two objects of his ire.

Takada felt the hair on her arms rising. Nomura-buchou did _not_ look happy.

* * *

"Better, much better, Kagawa."

"Thanks, captain." Sakura smiled. A compliment was sort of awesome, especially when the_other_ captain and the rest of the training group were standing around.

"Your accuracy needs work."

Her smiled dimmed a bit. Not awesome.

"May I help, Nomura-san?"

That was Oishi-senpai. Great, make _her_ problem _everyone's_ problem, go ahead.

"Thank you for offering, Oishi, but Kagawa can work with Imako. Understood, Kagawa?"

"Yes, captain."

"Momoshiro, Takada, I'd like to see more work, less... whatever you were doing. Understood?" Nomura's glare pinned both of them to their places.

"Yes ma'am." Both answered as one. Sakura smirked at him, which made him bristle silently.

"We will now announce the first doubles pairs for the upcoming matches." Tezuka said, holding up a sheet.

Everyone tensed. All Sakura could think was: _not Momoshiro._ _Just not Momoshiro_.

It wasn't like she really disliked the guy. It was just... not the best idea right now. And that terrible English grade last term had opened her eyes as to just_what _could happen when she got carried away by the fun.

"Oishi and Sato (Kazumi looked disappointed); Kagawa and Fuji; Takada and Momoshiro."

"These pairings aren't permanent, remember that! We'll keep switching them around, so keep on your toes." Nomura warned them, grinning a little at Kazumi's look of resignation.

"That's all. The next practice session will be at six a.m on Wednesday. Don't be late. Dismissed!"

"So we're partners now, Kagawa-san. It's nice to meet you." Fuji approached her as she picked up her canteen on the way to the changing room.

"It's nice to meet you too, Fuji-senpai. I'm looking forward to training with you."

"So am I. I've heard a good deal about you." He laughed when she tensed, and waved a hand. "About your tennis. All good things, don't worry."

"Oh, thank god. This is going to sound creepy, but I followed your matches right from junior high, so I've certainly_seen_ good things from you." Sakura grimaced. "That really sounded creepy, didn't it? It wasn't meant to be, I swear."

He laughed again. "You've scared me, now."

"Ah, damn." She grinned. "Well, see you at practice, senpai."

"See you, Kagawa-san."

It wasn't until she had taken her seat on the bus home that she remembered that Fuji-senpai had a reputation for mindfuckery beyond belief.

Oh, stars. What was she in for?

**Review!**

**Chilli.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Bildungsroman **

**Chapter three**

**Disclaimer: Do you really think I'd waste my time writing fanfiction if I owned PoT?**

**By the way, please do read the note at the end of the chapter. Many thanks!**

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_Stupid fucking alarm clock…_**  
**

Sakura wasn't a morning person. She _really_ wasn't. Unfortunately (or in this case, fortunately) her phone was. And the alarm tone was loud and obnoxious and made her want to throw the gadget across the room.

Even more effective than the alarm were the thirty laps they had been brusquely ordered to run as soon as everyone had arrived (Sakura had turned up second-last, much to the girls' surprise). The massive jug of viscous _green_ liquid acted as a great motivator, even for the girls, who'd never tried it before. It wasn't the colour, or the gluggy consistency, or even the fact that it was freaking _bubbling_, though these were bad enough- it was the mad glint in Inui-senpai's eye (glasses, whatever. It was downright creepy the way his _glasses_ could project emotions).

Laps- which culminated in a mad dash to the finish line- were followed by twenty minutes of stretching. The result was that by the time they broke up into pairs, Sakura's blood was pumping quite ferociously through her veins. "You look flushed, Kagawa-san." Fuji said with his ever-present smile.

She grinned, trying to catch her breath. "I bet. And call me Sakura, senpai. Do you guys do this _every day_?"

"We do. This is rather basic, actually. I think Tezuka and Nomura-san are eager to get preparations for the mixed doubles underway."

"Yeah, they sure are eager. Good thing, I guess; does anyone here actually have experience in this kind of thing?"

Fuji shook his head. "Not really. I certainly don't, and I'm sure Momo and Oishi don't either. All of us have a good amount of experience in doubles, but never with a girl. What about the girls?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not me. But then I only started playing a couple of years ago. Takada and Sato-senpai have been around much longer, and I mean- most of the girls have played against guys at some point. It's just the way things roll, I suppose. Very few really had girlfriends who played until junior high, and most have brothers or dads who got them into it. But I don't know about doubles –"

"Can you two _start practising_ over there!"

Nomura certainly had the eye of a _hawk_. Then again, two stationary figures on a tennis court were probably more than a little conspicuous.

"Oops." Sakura gave Fuji a sheepish wink, her tongue sticking out. "Let's get to it, senpai. I really don't fancy more laps."

"I agree. Rally?"

"Works for me."

Fuji-senpai's style was like her own, Sakura decided- not showy (except that Disappearing Serve and the Hakugei- but come on, being _that_ freaking good, he was _allowed_ to show off now and again), but almost a seamless whole with no holes and blind spots and weaknesses. And god, when he really pulled out those shots- Sakura lost a few points just gaping.

"How are you _doing _that!" She gasped, after _yet another_ well-timed smash was returned faultlessly to her baseline.

His voice was ragged, but playful. "It's a secret, Sakura-_chan_."

It was the _chan_ that did it. Sakura wasn't a madly-focused tennis nut, but she was _damn_ _good_, she was being considered for captaincy, and Fuji Syusuke, genius though he may be, was going to respect her as his partner. No one, _no one_, took that infuriatingly patronising, politely dismissive tone with her more than once, because she was _Kagawa Sakura_, and she refused to be swept aside.

She didn't have shots that stunned whole crowds into silence; she'd come rather late into tennis, and had worked to perfect her basics. Speed, power, accuracy, control, technique. Her entire game was based on these; these, and her ability to out-think the other person. Granted, her accuracy had been questioned lately, but… she'd been slacking off that practice, lazier than usual, and it had showed. Other times…

Fuji's eyes opened as he found himself needing to chase every single ball down, right to the very corners. _She's accurate… marvellously so._ Balls were bouncing on the corners of the court, a hair's breadth from being out, but indisputably in every time. She was hitting them hard, hitting them fast… and she was catching every single ball of his, too.

Her shots were heavier than before; she was clearly pushing him into long rallies, rather than trying to power one past his counters.

_Fast- she's picking up everything. Precise. Good stamina- she wouldn't push me into an endurance battle otherwise. Good power, good technique, excellent control._

The rally continued for another ten minutes. Sakura seemed to have no problem keeping up with Fuji's changes- he altered the pace, the power, the speed of his shots, and she adapted. Sometimes it seemed shoddy, as when he drew her up to the net and she tripped over her feet trying to volley quickly. She did receive a skinned knee for her efforts, but the ball made it over the net, which was a win, she supposed.

"I guess that's enough for now." Fuji caught the ball in his hand.

Caught by surprise, Sakura stared. "What?"

His grin was small and amused. "We're supposed to evolve a partnership, Sakura-chan."

The smile, the tone to this _chan_… Sakura allowed a small smile of her own to slip onto her face, because this smile from him, this address? They were clean. They were honest.

There was, she fancied, a hint of appreciation there now.

"You're very good." Was the first thing he told her after practice concluded, when they stayed behind to 'discuss things'.

She reddened, which was understandable, but utterly _embarrassing_. "Thank you, senpai. I've already told you that you're amazing, so that would be repetitive."

At least she wasn't tongue-tied and _blushing_. That would have been mortifying.

"I'm worried about our combination, though. We're not really the ideal pair- two counter-punchers..."

"We're both baseline players." Sakura nodded. "Neither of our play styles includes net play, and that's where we're weakest. It's one of the reasons why the Golden Pair is so successful."

"But that doesn't mean we can't adapt, and forge a successful combination. After all, Momo is an aggressive baseliner, and he and Kaidoh make an excellent pair even with Kaidoh being a counter-puncher like us."

He waited for her to nod, before continuing. "Seeing as you play far better at the baseline than at the net, I think I'll stay at the net, except during my service games. You need to develop your net play a bit more though. You'll be targeted a good deal since it doesn't take much to figure out where your weaknesses are."

He laughed when Sakura squirmed. "Don't worry! Oishi's weakness is the same as yours- it's one of the main reasons why Eiji plays singles and he doesn't. Eiji can play near the baseline well enough to hold his own- it's just that he prefers the net, since his tennis is acrobatic."

"I'd better not get put on a team with Oishi-senpai, then. We'd go down in flames."

"Don't be so sure. There are ways to make every combination work- even those that defy the norm."

* * *

That night, Sakura pretty much dragged herself to her room, and had to use her hands to pull her feet up onto the bed.

"It's the ankle weights." She told her bemused mother. "I'm just getting used to them; when I do, Inui-senpai's going to give me the corresponding wrist weights. I need to tone up until I at least look like Fuji-senpai- slender, but super strong."

"...Right." Aiki said slowly. "And should I expect a puddle of sick on my floor every night until you tone up enough to run to the bathroom in time?"

"... I _said _I was sorry, ma."

* * *

Debate club had started late this year, Sakura thought. Probably because Ueda-senpai, the President, had taken his own sweet time getting back from Okinawa, and the Vice-President was pretty useless. Or lazy. Most likely both.

"Sakura-chan! It's great to see you back this year!" Ueda exclaimed as she walked in. He rose and spread his arms. Laughing, she walked into them. "Like I'd leave, senpai."

"Oh, I know that." He assured her, giving her a fierce squeeze. "It's nice to know I was right about you. By the way, congratulations. I heard about making the regulars. Nomura told me."

Sakura groaned. "That can't have been very pretty."

"Borderline ugly. But I told her that the final decision would obviously be yours, so there was no reason for _us _to come to blows."

"So diplomatic, senpai."

"Ah, but at least I never lie, Blossom-chan."

Sakura rolled her eyes. _Blossom-chan. _There weren't many more ridiculous nicknames out there, but it was Ueda-senpai, so saying that his nicknames were crap (more than thrice, anyway) would be like kicking a puppy.

Slowly, members and newbies filtered in, and the room was unusually full. Vice-captain Asano floated over. "Ueda-kun, how lovely to see you back." She said. Everything about Asano was delicate- her slight frame, wispy hair, near-translucent complexion, the frail hands, her light embrace, floating gait. Her voice was soft- like how flowers would sound, if they would talk. She had a tender, gentle smile, and she was the most ladylike person Sakura had ever seen, her own _mother_ included.

She was also the calmest, most logical and damn near unbeatable debater Sakura had ever seen.

"It's the Vice-captain." Someone whispered, and there was _awe_ in the voice. "I heard she's _never been beaten."_

Ueda grinned. "It's nice to see you too, Sadako-san." Ueda replied, shaking her hand. "How was your internship? With the Asian Women's Centre, wasn't it?"

Asano inclined her head with a smile. "Yes, it was, and it was wonderful. Most illuminating. Okinawa seems to have suited _you_."

"Oh, wasn't _that_ awesome! You should go there, Sadako-san, it's simply incredible! You'd enjoy it."

The smile she gave him was so soft that Sakura had to turn away. She couldn't hear Asano's reply, and eventually drifted off to another corner of the room, where a few members from the previous year were sitting. After a few minutes of aimless chatting, in which little information was exchanged along with many insults, a hush descended on the group as Ueda stood up.

"Hello everyone." He smiled around. "Welcome to this year's first meeting of the debate club. It's great to see such a large turnout this year- if slightly strange. Not complaining though."

Several faces became less strained- having such a pleasant leading figure was definitely a plus. Ueda-senpai was a good leader.

"Unfortunately, not all of you will make it into the club. Since teams are consist of four people, the club strength is small, to ensure that everyone gets some amount of experience. A decent amount, too. But the fact is that the better debaters _will_ get more chances to speak at competitions, so you can't treat being _chosen_ as part of the club as a goal in itself. Here, as everywhere, growth and improvement count."

Asano stood. "The auditions for debate club will be held on Friday, at regular club activities time." Her voice carried, despite her not raising it a single bit. "If anyone has enrolled in another club with conflicting timings, you'll have to either get an exemption for that day, or miss this round and prepare for the next. There will be no re-scheduling, for _anyone_." She glanced at Sakura, who gave a brief nod.

"We're passing a sheet around. Kindly fill in your name and contact details, so that we can let you know the exact time for your round. The topic will be given to you on the spot."

A few of the freshmen turned a mild shade of green at that. Newbies, clearly. Sakura rolled her eyes.

When everyone had written down their details and the papers had made their way back to Asano, the meeting was broken up, with a repetition of the injunction to be there at the time communicated to them.

"Such a _lot_ of people this time." Ueda sighed, looking over the sheets. He ran a hand through his hair. We'll be having about 26 debates in a single evening… unless we spill over to Saturday. And dammit, I don't want to do that. I have plans."

"I can take care of it, if you have to be elsewhere, Ueda-kun." Asano offered. He sighed, casting her a weary smile. "No, I'll be there. Thank you all the same, Sadako-san. Blossom, I think we can have yours first on Friday. Okay?"

Sakura had really been hoping for Saturday. Tennis practice was longer on those days. "Right, senpai. Friday, at three then?"

"Right you are."

"Great. See you, senpais!"

It wasn't often that she walked home without being absolutely dog-tired, or without someone from the tennis club. Sakura felt strange; like she was at a loose end, but without feeling all… superfluous in herself, or lonely, or… it was rather nice.

She'd go home, have a wash, do her homework. There wasn't much, but English and Physics would probably take a bit of time. At least there was nothing in Math today. A few questions in World History, a chapter to read in Japanese history (and of course she was going to do that, wasn't she), problems in Physics and an essay in English. Hmm. She anticipated being done by 6. What then?

Well, she'd see at the time. Maybe she could go down to the bookstore and buy the next issue of _Special A_; she'd certainly saved enough from her internship for that.

She arched her back, feeling her spine crack satisfactorily. It came to her mind that it had been a while since her last break-up. Not long enough to really have a decent conversation with Ryou- Chozen-kun, but long enough for any negative feelings to subside, and for her to start looking around again. She wasn't a serial dater, but she liked dating- well, obviously, who wouldn't like spending time with a person they liked? It was a nice feeling- what an awful way to describe anything, 'nice'- but there wasn't really anything else she could say about it.

For god's sake, she was only sixteen. She didn't believe in love at first sight, or one true love, or any of those romantic fairytales. Sure, they were pretty to read about, or to sigh over while watching Disney movies. And that was it. She was pretty practical, and at this point, while she enjoyed dating people and genuinely felt something for the people she dated, she wasn't looking to have anyone on a white horse come around and sweep her off her feet.

She could admit- Tezuka-senpai _was_ pretty cute. More like very, very handsome, but it wasn't like she had a full-fledged crush on him. Hell, she didn't even have a crush on _him_, it was his surprising likeness to Shirota Yuu, on whomshe _did_ have a _full-fledged crush_, that had her… noticing him. It would be hard not to, anyway, going to Seigaku _and_ being involved in the tennis scene. He was sort of the 'unattainable ice prince golden boy' of the school; she wondered if there was really anyone in school who _didn't _know of him. Unlikely.

Her parents weren't home when she got there. Interesting. Ma usually was. At any rate, she was touched to see that she'd left a plate of rolls for her to warm in the microwave. Lovely.

She washed, ate, and sat down to do her homework. When Ma would be back, she didn't know, but she hadn't left any message about ordering dinner, so Sakura didn't bother.

It was nearly eight 'o' clock when she heard the front door being unlocked. That was rather a lot of noise for one person- her parents were home, then.

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**How was it? Please review!**

**So, I've had a thought. This story will likely be a pretty long one, so I was thinking that it might be more interesting and quite a bit quicker if I were to do the two timelines simultaneously. To say anymore would be to give away rather too much, but the double narrative would be more of a challenge to write, as well as preventing the story from becoming too much of a monologue and dragging on. What do you think? I was going to simply take this down and start afresh, but that didn't sit well with me. So I'd like to get input from my readers; if there are any, of course.**

**Cheers,**

**Chilli.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bildungsroman**

**Chapter four**

**Thanks to the lovely Rejar, my first reviewer, who left a lovely mix of appreciation that warmed me through my exams, and criticism that I've tried to work into this chapter, and will continue working on. Tell me if I've succeeded, love! This chapter is for you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, which belongs to Takeshi Konomi. I do, however, own Kagawa Sakura and any other non-canon characters you may see here.**

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"Hey, you're back late." Sakura said, bringing two glasses of water for her parents, who were seated in the dining room. "Go somewhere important?"

They didn't reply immediately, both taking their time over the water. Her mother sipped at it slowly, her eyes fixed on the reducing liquid in her glass. Her father took two large gulps, small drops spilling from his wet lips to his creased white shirt. "Get me a little more, would you, sweetheart?" He requested.

When she returned to the dining table with the refilled glass, she found her parents sitting very close together, talking softly. Sakura cleared her throat. "Something the matter?" She asked pointedly. "Here, papa."

He accepted the glass with a murmur of thanks, draining it just as quickly as before.

"We- your father and I- went to the doctor today." Aiki began slowly, an unreadable look in her eyes as she moved them to her daughter's face. Sakura sat down immediately. "Shit, is everything okay, ma?" She asked, worry creasing her forehead.

"Everything's fine. The thing is... we went for a pregnancy test."

"Okay. And?"

Aiki's face split into a smile of helpless delight. "And it came out positive. I'm pregnant, sweetheart."

Sakura _was_ happy, she really _was_, but as soon as her mother said the word 'pregnant', she couldn't help but remember the last two times. Ma had always wanted more than one child, but two miscarriages had followed after Sakura, and five years ago, she and Papa had decided to stop trying. Aiki simply wasn't strong enough to handle another baby, the doctors had said. She'd always been a bit on the frail side, but the young age at which she'd had Sakura had been a factor her carrying the child to term. Sixteen years were hardly going to add to her youth and her ability to have a child, and Sakura bit her lip, suddenly worried.

Aiki saw the expression and took her hand. "You don't need to worry, Sakura. I'm going to take very good care of myself, and I'll be checking with Dr Ishida as often as required. It'll be perfectly fine, you'll see. Cheer up! You're going to be a sister!"

And, well, what could she say to that, in the face of such hope, such happiness?

Quashing her misgivings, Sakura wound her arms around her mother and kissed her cheek.

She could fear in private.

* * *

As the weeks turned into months, schoolwork mounted, and club activities increased. More than once, Sakura seriously considered dropping out of the tennis club; many times, she cursed herself roundly for being such an over-enthusiastic over-achiever, and for actually liking the things that were making her life difficult.

One would have thought that with only two weekly sessions- Wednesday and Sunday evenings- debate club wouldn't be so bad, especially with how easygoing the President and Vice-President were. _Au contraire, fuckers_, Sakura thought bitterly, as she re-wrote her argument for Sunday's debate- the first of the season- for the fourth time. Three previous drafts had been read and corrected by both Ueda and Asano alternately- and _still_ she couldn't seem to figure out what had been wrong with the last one. _Flaws in the logic of the rebuttal, please rethink your arguments_, they had written; Sakura wondered where they thought she had the time to _think_, let alone rewrite the same thing a hundred times.

Tennis, too, was hard, _hard,_ rewarding work. Her weights had been added to, the daily dose of Inui Death Tonic 4.0 (her variation of the name she was sure everybody privately called it) had been increased- and this was outside of the 'incentive' doses that the players who failed any training exercise succumbed to. Sakura thought it was more 'punitive' than 'incentive', but that was just her, she was sure (yeah, right). Laps were increased (and actual punitive doses meted out freely- even during girls' practice. Tezuka was clearly influencing Nomura, and not for the better), which meant her endurance increased. There was a measurable decrease in her sprint timings. Her shots had more force, more accuracy, more control. She could _think_ clearer on the court; she'd managed to take three games from Imako-senpai, the girls' team vice-captain, the previous week, rather than her previous best of two.

Her combination with Fuji was also working itself out much to her surprise.

Even in the wake of being _utterly fucking destroyed_ by the Golden Pair, that was something to hold onto.

"You and Fujiko are playing like you've been together for a while, Sakura-chan." Eiji said. They had just finished their match, and were sitting outside the court, watching the Momoshiro-Takada pair warm up before their match with Kaidoh and Inui. "It's impressive."

"Eiji's right. We've known only a few doubles pairs who've been able to almost pull off the Australian Formation so early." Oishi added, earnest and warm as always.

Sakura grinned as she took another sip of water. "Yourselves included, naturally."

Eiji laughed and threw an arm around his partner, who tried not to pull away from the sweat. "What can we say, we're unique!" He gave her a roguish wink.

"That play was shoddy, though; needs work, don't you think, senpai?" She asked, turning to Fuji, whose smile had remained eerily static all through the match. He nodded in assent, strangely quiet.

Oishi and Eiji glanced at Sakura, who bit her lip. "Eiji," Oishi said, his gaze slowly shifting to his partner. "I need your help warming up before Sato-san gets here; care for a rally?"

Kikumaru shouldered his racquet, grinning. As they walked away, he threw a comforting sort of grimace over his shoulder at Sakura.

She returned it with a small smile of her own, before breathing in deeply. Fuji was still silent; he'd not said a word since about halfway through the match.

Since the bolloxed-up Australian Formation, which had been all her fault.

He wasn't going to begin for her; she was going to have to muddle through this, and start right now.

"Um," Yep, now _that_ was sure and confident, like a true public speaker. "Fuji-senpai, look, I'm- I'm sorry…?"

He said nothing. Did nothing. Didn't move a muscle; gave no sign he'd heard her.

"I- I said I'm sorry, senpai. I- we- I screwed up out there today, made you look bad. It won't happen again, _really_. I promise."

Progress! Well, he'd only tilted his head a tad, and not even in her direction, but it was still _something_.

"Anyway, like I said, I'm really, _really_ sorry. It won't happen again, honestly! Let's just put this behind us and work things out, yeah?"

"What went wrong out there today, Kagawa?"

Fuji's voice was soft, but it wasn't brittle. It wasn't helpless, or wondering, either. It was a straight-up question; he was asking what she thought. A simple question that required a simple answer.

It was through a lump of shame lodged in her throat that she managed to choke out the answer. "I… I didn't do what you said."

It was such a _hard_ thing for her to admit. She made mistakes, she wasn't perfect, but she wanted to believe she could be. She wanted to be perfect and clever and independent and a quick thinker; she didn't take too well to orders, and that had back-fired terribly on her today.

"You gave me the sign, and I didn't follow it, and that threw off our play. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry, again."

The corners of his lips seemed to thaw as he turned and smiled at her. "I must be the only person in school to get five apologies out of Kagawa Sakura in a single day!"

She scuffed the ground with the tip of her show. "Try in a single lifetime." Her mutter wasn't lost on him, and he laughed.

"You need to trust me." He said, opening the gate of the court for her. "I do know what I'm doing- most of the time, anyway."

Her laugh was bright and high, and nearly everyone looked around.

She flushed, and Fuji laughed again.

Practice couldn't end fast enough. As soon as Tezuka dismissed them, Sakura all but ran to the clubhouse, ducked under the shower for the two minutes required for the sweat to slide off her, and darted out. She changed her clothes in record speed, and left the clubhouse, leaving behind a confused Takada with a quick "I've got _so much work to DO!_"

Her house, luckily, wasn't all that far; she reached quick enough, her run slowing to a jog due to the fatigue and the ever-present weights. Homework was shunted aside, to be completed in a hurry tomorrow… sometime, and she made herself a coffee later that night to stop her eyes from blurring further over the argument she was reading through for the fifth time that week. The scratch of her pen reverberated in her room long into the night, writing out the final argument, making the final flow-charts and flash-cards.

You didn't just walk into Rikkai Dai unprepared. Even if she was going to throw up spectacularly in their toilets the next day.

* * *

**Aaaand finally I can bring Rikkai and Sanada into it- although I don't know if the latter will turn up next chapter. He's a moody bugger, who won't be written if he doesn't feel like it. Which is probably why I like him so much. But this chapter really took a while to do. It's not very long, is it? I have trouble writing long chapters. Ah well. Do leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Cheers,**

**Chilli.**


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